If you were to look at the UK news these days there are regular articles about the state of the UK’s schools whether it’s a recruitment crisis, behavioural issues, problems over crumbling buildings or recruiting and retaining teachers. Crumbling schools plagued by leaks and cold, BBC finds – BBC News and Pupil violence and abuse driving teachers from profession – BBC News
Whilst this is not necessarily the picture across all schools in the UK, we need to be asking ourselves the question ‘How can a child learn and be successful in their exams under such conditions?’
The simple answer is that it takes a huge amount of adaptability and resilience in the student to be able to succeed and many who had the potential to succeed ultimately don’t. One parent I spoke to recently noted that their child had had four different teachers in the same year and that there was a hiatus between each teacher which negatively impacted learning, aside from the different teaching styles encountered.
It’s no wonder that online education is seeing massive growth. As long as the student has their own space, the correct tools and no interruptions, there are few, if any distractions for them. Behaviour problems are non-existent. Instances of bullying in online schools are negligible and dealt with swiftly and effectively.
Because of this, teaching positions in online schools are like gold dust, meaning online schools can attract the very best teachers and, because of the working conditions, they can retain them. Teachers recognise how fortunate they are to work under such conditions and are prepared and able to give more of themselves as a result.
As your child approaches the important exam years, you need to be sure that they are able to learn in a calm, supportive learning environment with experienced teachers who are given the tools and the support to be able to teach.
Whilst there are perceived and sometimes actual counters to online education, the balance tips very strongly in favour of online learning. At Elea High we’ve seen a dramatic improvement in student outcomes compared to their performance at a physical school. For us, the task now is to build on the many benefits that online education offers and work hard to provide solutions to the barriers.
